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3 Sheets-Sheet 1. -J. V. NEED HAM & G. HINTON. Safety-Lock for Fire-Arms.

No. 225,994 Patented Mar. 30,1880.

3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. V. NEEDHAM & G. 'HINTON. Safety-Look for Fire-Arms.

Patented Mar. 30,1880.

3 SheetsSheet 3.

J. NEEDHAM &YG. HINTON. $afety-l-Loo-k for Fire-Arms.

No. 225,994 Ptented Mar. 30,1880.

UNITED STATES PATENT O FICE.

JOSEPH V. NEEDHAM AND GEORGE HINTON, ()F BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOBS TO WILLIAM MIDDLEDITCH SCOTT AND JAMES CHARLES SCOTT, OF SAME PLACE.

SAFETY-LOCK FOR FIRE-ARMS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 225,994, dated March 30, 1880.

Application filed December 12, 1879 Patented in England, February 21, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOSEPH VERNON NEEDHAM, of Birmingham, in the county of Warwick, .En gland, gun manufacturer, and

GEORGE HINTON, of Birmingham aforesaid,

gun-finisher, have invented new and useful Improvements in Breech-Loading Small-Arms, which improvements are fully set forth in the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

()ur invention has reference to breech'loading small-arms having internal or concealed hammers; and our said invention consists of the improvements hereinafter described in the I 5 said breech-loading small-arms, whereby the accidental discharge of the gun, consequent upon the failure or wearing of the notch or bent in the tumbler of the hammer, or the disengagement of the sear from the said notch or bent by a blow on the gun or otherwise, is prevented, the liberation 'of the hammer and the discharge of the gun not taking place until, by pressure on the trigger, the mechanism hereinafter described has been operated upon.

We will describe our invention as applied to a drop-down gun.

At the back of the break-off, and working in a plane parallel to the break-off, we place a nearly vertical safety-lever, the upper end of this lever being pressed outward-that is, from the middle of the break-01f toward the outside of the gun. The head of this lever is turned into a horizontal direction, and when the hammer of the gun is raised the lever is pressed by its spring so as to bring the said horizontal part of the lever between the hammer and the break-off. When the lever is in this position the hammer cannot fall sufficiently far to discharge the gun.

On the top of the trigger is a horizontal arm, which bears against the lower arm of the safety-lever described. The said lower arm of the safety-lever being either inclined or turned nearly at right angles to the other part, the pressure of the finger on the trigger causes the horizontal arm at the top of the trigger to act upon the lower arm of the safety-lever, and thereby to withdraw its upper end from the front of the hammer. The pressure of the finger on the trigger liberates the hammer in the usual way and discharges the gun.

In safety apparatus as usually constructed it is necessary, prior to pressing the trigger for discharging the gun, to operate specially on the safety apparatus, and if this be neglected the gun is not discharged when the trigger is pressed.

In guns constructed according to our invention the safety apparatus operates to prevent the discharge of the gun under all circum- 6o stances, excepting when the trigger is pressed upon, the pressure of the finger on the trigger to discharge the gun first throwing the safety apparatus out of action and then liberating the hammer.

Instead of making the safety-lever operate in front of the hammer, its upper end may be made to engage with the hammer at its side or at its back with nearly the same effect; or, in place of the lever described, a sliding bolt may be operated by the trigger in ways essentially the same as those described with reference to a lever. Instead of making the safetylever lock the hammers, it may be made to lock the sear.

We will now proceed to describe, with reference to the accompanying drawings, the manner in which our invention is to be performed.

Figures I, II, and III represent in longitudinal section, partly in elevation, the breech end of a drop-down double-barrel gun provided with safety mechanism constructed according to our invention; and Fig. IV is a back elevation of the break-off in combination with the hammers and safety-levers. Fig. V represents the trigger and its nearly horizontal arm detached. Fig. VI represents one of the hammers detached, and Fig. VII represents one of the safety-levers detached.

In Fig. I the hammer of the lock mechanism c is represented in its discharged position, the safety-lever having been withdrawn out of action to permit of the descent of the said hammer.

In Figs. II and III the horizontal part of the 9 5 safety-lever is represented situated between the hammer and the break-off, and the said hammer thus prevented from acting upon the striker to discharge the gun, the shown disengaged from the bent.

The same letters indicate the same parts in Figs. I to VII.

Each of the barrels and locks of the doublebarrel gun is provided with safety mechanism constructed according to our invention; but as the said safety mechanisms resemble one another, we will only describe that in connection with one of the barrels and looks.

a is the vertical safety-lever at the back of and working in a plane parallel to the face of the break-oft b. The head of the lever a is turned into a horizontal direction, and has on that face which is presented to the hammer c a projection, d, of a shape and size proper to engage with a corresponding depression or notch, c, in the head of the hammer 0, as hereinafter described. The head of the safety-lever a is pressed outward or from the middle of the break-off toward the outside of the gun, as exhibited in the right-hand safety-lever of Fig. IV, by the action of the triggerf; or an independent spring may be employed to press the head of the lever outward or into the position last described.

The trigger f of the lock mechanism is provided with a nearly horizontal arm, 9. (See Fig. V.) The extreme end of this arm is rounded at h, and the said rounded end ensear being I gages in a slot, t, in the lower arm of the safety-lever a. By pressing upon the trigger fits nearly horizontal arm 9 h, acting upon the lower arm of the safety-lever a, lifts the said safety-lever into the vertical position exhibited at the left-hand side of the gun, Fig. IV, and when the trigger is loosed its horizontal arm 9 It tends to force the safety-lever a, when at liberty to move, into its inclined position or position of safety.

When the hammer 0 is raised from the breakoff in the act of cockin g or partly cocking it, the safety-lever a falls into or takes the position represented in Figs. II and III, and the right-hand lever in Fig. IV, and the horizontal part of the safety-lever a is thereby brought between the hammer and the break-off, the projection d on the said horizontal part of the safety-lever engaging with the notch e in the hammer, should the said hammer be only partially cooked or the sear he accidentally disengaged from the bent in the said hammer.

When the safety-lever is in this position the hammer is locked by it, and cannot fall sufficiently far to act upon the striker to discharge the gun, (see Fig. III,) and whether the hammer be partially or fully cooked the safety-lever is always interposed between it and the break-off.

When the trigger f is pressed to discharge the gun (the hammer 0 having been raised to full-cock and the notch removed from the shoulder of the safety-lever) the first movement of the trigger causes its arm 9 h to act upon the J lower arm of the safety-lever a and withdraw the upper end of the said safety-lever from the front of the hammer.

pressure on the trigger liberates the hamme' in the usual way and discharges the gun, as i lustrated in Fig. I. Thus it will be understbod that the safety-lever a is, after the hammer has been partially or fully cooked, always interposed between it and the break-0ff, and the withdrawal or throwing out of action of the safety-lever does not take place to permit of the fall of the hammer until the trigger is pressed to discharge the gun.

In addition to the advantages possessed by our invention hereinbefore pointed out, it has the further advantage that when applied to guns in which the concealed hammers are antomatically cooked, or cocked by the raising of the breech ends of the barrels for charging the gun, the partial opening of such guns does not fully cook the hammers, and on closing the barrels the hammers fall and may accidentally discharge the gun. In such cases our safetylevers are interposed between the hammers and the break-off, and the accidental discharge of the gun is prevented.

Figs. VIII and IX represent, in longitudinal section, adrop-down gun provided with another arrangement of our invention. In Fig. VIII the safety-lever is in the position which it occupies after the hammer has been discharged, and in Fig. IX the said lever is represented in the position which it occupies when the hammer has been partly cocked, the sear being shown disengaged from the bent.

Figs. X and XI represent the lock-plate carryin g the safety-lever, Fig. X showing the said safety-lever in its depressed or non-acting position, and Fig. XI the same in its raised oracting position.

Fig. XII represents an edge view of the lock-plate and lock mechanism, and Fig. XIII represents the safety-lever detached. In this arrangement the safety-lever i is jointed to the lock-plate K, instead of to the break off. The said safety-lever t works in a slot, l, in the lock -plate, (see Figs. X and XI,) the acting end in of the safety-lever being turned at right angles to the other part and projecting from the said plate. The end in of the safety-lever is situated at the breast part of the hammer d, as represented, and the said end at has a shoulder upon it, and the breast of the hammer is furnished with a corresponding shoulder, a, with which the shoulder at on the safetylever may engage, as represented in Fig. IX. Under the long arm of the safety-lever z' is a spring, 10. This spring lifts the safety-lever into its acting position, Fig. XI, when at liberty to move. The end on of the short arm of the safety-lever t crosses and bears upon the trigger f when the safety-lever is in its acting position, Figs. IX and XI. On the discharge of the hammer at its shoulder a bears upon the shoulder at of the safety-lever i, and the said safety-lever is carried down to its lowest position, and the spring 12 is compressed,

The said hammer is now free from obstruction, and the further as represented in Figs. VIII and X. On cocking the hammer 01 its shoulder a is removed gm off the shoulder m of the safety-lever, and tail latter is lifted by its spring 19, and the shctuder of the said lever, when the hammer is only partially cocked, is made to engage with the hammer, as represented in Fig. IX. The hammer is thereby put into a position of safety, and cannot fall to discharge the gun until the trigger is pressed. After the 11ammer d has been fully cocked its shoulder a is disengaged from the shoulder m of the safetylever, and on pressing the trigger fit raises the short arm of the safety-lever by acting upon the cross-bar m and the long arm of the said lever is depressed, and the projection on the latter removed from the front of the projection n on the hammer, as illustrated in Fig. VIII. The hammer is now free to fall to discharge the gun.

Figs. XIV and XV represent the arrangement of our invention in which a sliding bolt is used instead of a lever, Fig. XIV representing the safety-bolt in its acting position and Fig. XV the same in its withdrawn position. q is the safety-bolt, pressed upward into its acting position by a coiled spring, 1', hearing at one end against the head of the bolt and at its other end against the fixed abutment 3 on the break-oft. The breast of the hammer d has a shoulder upon it, which takes into a notch in the head of the safety-bolt q. The trigger f is furnished with a horizontal arm, f the free end of which engages with the stem of the bolt. When the hammer (1 has been discharged the safety-bolt is held by the discharged hammer in the depressed position represented in Fig. XV. 011 cocking the hammer cl its breast is removed from the safetybolt, and the said bolt is raised by its spring r, and the recess in the head of the bolt engaged with the shoulder at the breast of the hammer, and the said hammer cannot fall sufficiently far to operate upon the striker and discharge the gun, as illustrated in Fig. XIV. After the hammer has been raised to full-cock its shoulder is withdrawn from the head of the safety-bolt, and by pressing the trigger f the said bolt is depressed by the action of the arm 7' of the said trigger into the position represented in Fig. XV, and the hammer is at lib- V erty to fall and discharge the gun.

Fig. XVI represents the arrangement of our invention in which the safetylever is made to lock the scar, and also prevent the rebound of the mainsprin g. t t is the safety-lever, (shown separately in Fig. XVII,) having the cranked figure represented, and swinging at if under the strap of the break-off. By means of a light spring, t the said safety-lever, when at liberty to move, is made to take the position represented in the drawings. When in this position the crossbar of the long arm t of the lever crosses the long arm of the sear o, and prevents the said sear being raised to discharge the gun. The cross-bar ofthe other and shorter arm, 25, of the safety-lever crosses the mainspring w, and prevents its rebound and the discharge of the gun. The lock mechanism is thus locked at two points.

The trigger f is furnished with a nearly vertical arm, a, the upper end of which bears against a stud, m, on the safety-lever. When the triggerf is pressed to discharge the gun the first movement of the said trigger causes its prolonged arm u to act upon the stud m on the safety-lever and turn the said safety-lever on its joint toward the break-off. The two arms 25 t of the said lever are thereby removed from off the scar and mainspring, respectively, and the further movement of the trigger withdraws the sear from the bent in the hammer, and the said hammer falls and discharges the gun. The arm t of the safety-lever may be dispensed with. In this case the sear only is locked.

Having now described the nature of our invention and the manner in which the same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that we do not limit ourselves to the precise details herein described and illustrated, as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of our invention; but

We claim as our invention- 1. Thecombination, with the hammer, spring, and cocking mechanism of a breech-loading fire-arm, operating to cock the hammer in opening the breech, of a safety device, substantially as described, operating in connection with. the hammer to prevent the accidental discharge of the gun, and arranged to be withdrawn directly by the trigger in firing, as set forth.

2. The combination of a trigger with a safety device connected directly therewith, and operating in connection with the hammer to prevent the accidental discharge of the gun, substantially as described.

JOSEPH vnnnon NEEDHAM. n 8.] enonen HINTON. 1.. s.

Witnesses:

GEORGE SHAW, RICHARD SKERRET'I, ,Both of N0. 37 Temple St, Birmingham. 

